Key retaining receptacle



Sept. 22, 1970 BENNETT 3,529,649

KEY RETAINING RECEPTACLE Filed Jan. 17, 1968 'YINVENTOR ROBERT BENNETT Maw United States Patent 3,529,649 KEY RETAINING RECEPTACLE Robert A. Bennett, 387 Falmouth Drive, Shelton, Conn. 06484 Filed Jan. 17, 1968, Ser. No. 698,469 Int. Cl. A45c 11/00 U.S. Cl. 150-40 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A key retaining receptacle capable of being secreted in a house or automobile and adapted for secure yet ready access thereto. The closure means of the receptacle is also capable to attaching the receptacle to a wire or other structural member. The closure means is comprised of a nylon pile surface pad on the interior face of the upper portion of one wall of the receptacle and a nylon looped pad on the opposing wall of the receptacle. In operation pressure applied against the exterior face of both walls compresses and bonds the receptacle to a support member while simultaneously closing the receptacle itself.

BAOKG-ROUND OF THE INVENTION 'It is frequently desired by home and auto owners to hide a so-called extra key in some unobstrusive spot around the home or auto. In the case of the auto it is normally somewhere under the hood around the motor or motor mounting. It may also be in the trunk or near the taillight assembly in other autos where this is practical.

Around the home one generally tries to hide a house key either outside near some article which would keep it from sight unless its location were specifically known. Inside the home a readily accessible source of a second key in the event the first key is misplaced or borrowed by a neighbor, would be most valuable.

In any event, if the key is to be kept outside the house or in an auto in some easily accessible yet secretive spot, it must be housed in a receptacle which meets at least three condiitons. First the receptacle should be waterproof to avoid rusting of the key upon exposure to the elements of the receptacle. It should also be tight and capable of being wiped free of grease, oil and grime which materials will not impregnate its surface. The requirement is particularly critical for use of thereceptacle under the hood of a motor car where such oleaginous materials are prevalent. Finally, the receptacle must be quickly and easily opened and closed with an assurance that one it is sealed it will remain securely fastened even under the jostling and jolting movement of a motor car over rough and uneven terrain.

Within the practice of the prior art it was and still is conventional practice to tape a key to a component of the motor. With an attendant greasy surface, however, frequently this tape does not bond securely and after a short period of time the key is worked loose and falls off and is consequently lost on the roadway.

Alternatively, one sometimes ties the key with a string to a wire or guideline of sorts. With this practice a number of difficulties arise. First of all, when one needs the key the single knot may have slipped and the key is lost. Or else the string rotted out and the key has fallen off. Possibly the knot is not able to be untied and the string must be broken or cut to break loose the key from the wire. In any event, this is time consuming and in an emergency situation can become critical.

It is an advantage of the present key retaining receptacle that all of these disadvantages of the prior art can be overcome and a clean, accessible, reliable means of secreting extra car keys may be employed in a safe economical manner.

THE INVENTION The present invention provides a key retaining receptacle which is greatly improved in design and construction and constitutes a new and improved means of secreting second keys for emergency use. It provides for the first time a key holding receptacle which is safely attadhable to the auto engine without fear of failure of the adhering or attaching means and consequent loss of the key. It obviates the time consuming taping or tying of spare car keys to the engine mounting. In effect, it makes possible attachment of a key positioned within a receptacle casing to an external frame of said auto without ever once touching the greasy wires or parts of the motor.

It is a principal object of the present invention therefore to provide a key retaining receptacle of improved design and construction capable of use in either an auto or the home.

-A still further and alternative object of the invention is to provide a key receptacle which can have one exterior surface thereof affixed to a fiat substrate by means of a pressure sensitive adhesive.

For the accomplishment of the foregoing and related objects, the present invention comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly defined in the several claims following the description of the construction and use in connection with the annexed drawing which sets forth in detail an illustrative embodiment of the invention and some of the ways in which it may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken from the right front of a preferred form of the receptacle as it would be seen closed with the key inside.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the receptacle of FIG. -1 taken in cross-section along the plane indicated by 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the unfolded recptacle of FIG. 2 showing a side view of each pile tape and hook tape section of the closure means when separated.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the unfolded receptacle showing a key therein and the front view of the pile tape portion and hook tape portion of the closure means.

FIG. 5 is a back view of the receptacle showing the cover strip pulled back from the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 'which is present on this embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the receptacle of claim 5 taken in cross-section along the plane indicated by 66 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view taken from the right front of the receptacle and showing the closure means unhooked with a wire support member running through the pile tape portion of the closure couple.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an alternative means of employment of the principle of the invention with a snap fastener as well as a nylon tape (pile number) closure shown.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 7 the present invention may be illustrated as comprising a rectangular shaped plastic box-like receptacle 10 having two of its opposite walls extending beyond the end partitions of the receptacle. As shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 3, each of these walls has on the interior surface an extension panel 11 and 12 which goes beyond the lateral end of the receptacle. On the interior surface of one extension panel 11 there is adhesively attached a pad 13 of fibrous nylon mesh in a hooked or looped arrangement. At the upper end of extension 11 is a pull tab 14. On the opposite side of the rectangular receptacle is a second extension panel 12 which has on its interior face a pad 15 of nylon fibrous :mesh in pile arrangement. On the opposite and exterior side of this receptacle wall is atfixed a sheet of pressure sensitive adhesive 16 which has a tear off cover sheet 17 to be removed prior to use in those cases where desired as shown in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 8 a second embodiment of the receptacle is shown which variant shows a snap fastener 22 in addition to the nylon mesh fastener the pile portion of which is shown as a circumferential tape 19.

In operation the receptacle is used by first inserting key 21 into receptacle 10 as it is full open as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawing. The sides of the receptacle are then folded over at crease folds 23 and 24 and the pad 13 composed of fibrous nylon mesh in hooked arrangement brought into contact with pad composed of fibrous mesh in pile arrangement. When finger pressure is then applied to extension panel 11 and extension panel 12 the two groups of meshed fibers interlock to secure a tight closure of the receptacle.

In a unique and interesting aspect of the invention as specifically illustrated 'by FIG. 7 a wire or other structural support member may be sandwiched in between the meshed fibers from pad 13 and pad 15 so as to entrap the support member therein at the same time as a closure is afiected.

Alternatively as illustrated by FIG. 5 a cover sheet 17 may be stripped off a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 16 so that the one wall of the receptacle may be affixed to a substrate "While the opposite wall is separable therefrom by pulling downward on the pull tab 14 to separate the extension panels 11 and 12 by pulling apart the closure made by the comingling of pads 13 and 15.

In general, a prime advantage of the receptacle of this invention is its capacity to 'be readily opened and closed without a diminution in the adhesive power of the closure. Because of the excellent bond created between the pads 13 and 15 this receptacle can be supported on a wire or other support member so arranged to run through the closure itself. In the use of various known chemical or plastic adhesives the interposition of such a member would break the adhesive seal in most instances and with repeated use pull off the adhesive material on the surface of the wire 20 in addition to this.

FIG. 8 of the drawing discloses another variant of my invention wherein the entire periphery of the key holder or receptacle is made up of a circumferential tape 19 composed of both pile and hook-type fibrous mesh. In this embodiment a snap fastener 22 would also be employed to hold the key in position in the receptacle. The side walls illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6 by reference numerals 27 and 28 are of course quite useful in holding the key in position in the receptacle and hence avoid lateral motion therein. In general, the receptacle comprises a dust-proof water-tight compartment which can readily be opened and closed, yet when fastened can remain so without risk of loss of its contents.

What is claimed is:

1. An article retaining receptacle which comprises a pair of first walls each having a compartment forming portion and a closure portion, a hinge piece joining said two first walls to permit them to be brought into an opposing relationship, each of said first Walls having a pair of upstanding side walls thereon which extend toward the opposing first 'wall, said side walls fitting within each other when the two said first walls are in said opposing relationship, said side walls, said first Walls and said hinge piece defining an article holding compartment when said first walls are brought into said opposing relationship, a piece of fibrous fastener material on the inner surface of the closure portion of each said first wall to hold said two first walls together in said opposing relationship when pressure is applied between the closure portions of said first walls to cause said fastener material pieces to hold together.

2. An article retaining receptacle according to claim 1 wherein one of the closure portions has at its terminus a pull tab which enables that closure portion and its piece of fibrous fastener material and the closure portion of the other said first Wall and its piece of fibrous fastener material to be easily pulled apart.

3. An article retaining receptacle according to claim 2 wherein the exterior surface of one of said first walls has thereon a coating of a pressure sensitive adhesive and a protective cover sheet to be removed when ready for use.

4. An article retaining receptacle according to claim 3 wherein the coating of a pressure sensitive adhesive is on the exterior surface of the said first wall which is opposite the first wall having the pull ta=b attached thereto.

5. An article holding receptacle as in claim 1 wherein the piece of fibrous fastener material on one of said closure portion of a said first wall comprises a mesh of hooks and the piece of fibrous fastening material on the closure portion of the other first wall comprises a plurality of loops which intertwine and entrap any intervening member passing through said closure portion of said first walls.

6. An article retaining receptacle according to claim 5 wherein the fibrous mesh on each piece of fastener material is of nylon fibers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,835,793 12/1931 Lurie 206-37 2,144,755 l/1939 Freedman.

2,487,897 11/1949 Rozsa et al.

2,689,594 9/1954 Wendt -1 2,789,609 4/1957 Post 150-3 3,007,568 11/1961 Kurland 150-40 X 3,262,479 7/1966 Leguillon 150-40 3,275,053 9/1966 Kabana 150-42 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,293,814 4/1962 France.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XJR. 150-46; 248-205 

